The Vietnam War, which lasted almost 18 years, was fought mainly between North Vietnamese forces and the South Vietnamese army, supported by American forces. In fact, this confrontation was part of the Cold War between the United States on the one hand and the Soviet Union and the PRC, which supported the communist government of North Vietnam, on the other.
After the surrender of Japan, which occupied Vietnam during World War II, the confrontation was virtually uninterrupted. Ho Chi Minh, a prominent figure in the Comintern, led the movement for a unified communist Vietnam in 1941, becoming leader of the military-political organization Vietminh, which aimed to fight for the country’s independence from foreign domination. He was essentially a dictator until the late 1950s, and remained the nominal leader until his death in 1969. Ho Chi Minh became a popular “icon” of the new left around the world, despite his totalitarian dictatorship and the extermination of tens of thousands of people.
During World War II, the Japanese occupied Vietnam, which was part of the French colony called Indochina. After Japan’s defeat, a kind of power vacuum was created, which the Communists took advantage of to declare the independence of Vietnam in 1945. No nation recognized the new regime, and France soon introduced troops into the country, which caused the outbreak of war.
Beginning in 1952, U.S. President Truman actively promoted the domino theory, arguing that communism ideologically inevitably sought world domination, so a communist regime would cause a chain reaction in neighboring states, eventually threatening the United States. The metaphor of falling dominoes linked complex processes in distant regions to U.S. national security. All five U.S. governments that participated in the Vietnam War, despite some nuances, followed the domino theory and the policy of containment.
Truman declared Indochina a key region. If the region came under Communist control, all of Southeast Asia and the Middle East would follow. This would jeopardize the security of Western European and U.S. interests in the Far East. Therefore, a Vietminh victory in Indochina must be prevented in any case. The prospects for success and the subsequent costs of U.S. involvement were not in doubt.
The U.S. supported the French and by 1953, 80% of the material resources used by the pro-French puppet regime for combat operations were supplied by the Americans. But the northerners, too, began to receive aid from the PRC from the early 50s.
Despite their technical superiority, the French were defeated at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in the spring of 1954, which was the final stage of the confrontation. It is estimated that about half a million Vietnamese were killed during this conflict, which became known as the Indochina War of 1946-1954.
Peace talks in Geneva in the summer of that year resulted in the creation of four independent countries on the territory of the former French colony – Cambodia, Laos, North Vietnam, and South Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh and the Communist Party ruled North Vietnam, while South Vietnam was ruled by a pro-Western government headed by Emperor Bao Dai. Neither side recognized the legitimacy of the other – the separation was seen as temporary.
In 1955, Ngo Dinh Ziem, supported by the Americans, became the leader of South Vietnam. According to the results of the referendum, it was announced that the inhabitants of the country abandoned the monarchy in favor of a republic. Emperor Bao Dai was deposed and Ngo Dinh Ziem became president of the Republic of Vietnam.
British diplomacy proposed a plebiscite in the North and South to determine the future of a united Vietnam. However, South Vietnam opposed the proposal, arguing that free elections were impossible in the communist North.
There is an opinion that the U.S. was supposedly ready to accept free elections and a reunified Vietnam, even under communist rule, as long as its foreign policy was hostile to China.